Rabago will decide on AG race by year’s end

Assistant Attorney General Vince Rabago acknowledged that he is among the ever expanding group of people who are eying the 2010 AG’s race.

Rabago, an assistant AG in Attorney General Terry Goddard’s Tucson office, has not yet filed an exploratory committee or made a decision to run, but said he will decide by the end of the year.

“There’s a whole host of things go that into that kind of calculus. But you have to be 100 percent ready to make that determination. And I’m pretty far along the way, but obviously not ready at this point,” he said.
Rabago said he believes he would be the most qualified candidate in a Democratic field that will likely include Rep. David Lujan and Felecia Rotellini, the former superintendent of the Arizona Department of Financial Institutions. Lujan has filed an exploratory committee for the position, and Rotellini, who recently joined the law firm Zwillinger & Greek, filed an exploratory committee on Sept. 17.

Rabago also said that he and his possible primary opponents are more qualified than anyone on the Republican side. He expressed concerns over how Rep. Sam Crump, Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne or Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas may run the Attorney General’s Office if elected. All three have filed exploratory committees.

“I want to make sure that this office continues to be an institution of justice and not one that is based on ideology or an ideological agenda, and I’m concerned about that with respect to some of the names I see on the Republican side of the aisle,” Rabago said.

The Douglas native touts a resume that includes 15 years of experience as a prosecutor. After graduating from law school at the University of San Diego, Rabago worked from 1994-2002 at the California attorney general’s San Diego office, before returning to his home state. He cited human smuggling and drug trafficking by Mexican cartels, as well as identity theft and consumer fraud as issues he has dealt with extensively.

He is also a former Pima County Democratic Party chairman and current vice chair of the Arizona Democratic Party, though he focused far more heavily on his professional credentials in an interview with the Arizona Capitol Times. “I’m not a politician, I’m a prosecutor,” he said.